by Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

by Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

STATELINE, Nev. â?? Johnny Manziel has at least one Super Bowl-winning quarterback in his corner.

"I met Johnny. He seems like a good kid," former Bears quarterback Jim McMahon said Tuesday after playing in a pro-am at the American Century Championship golf tournament on the shore of Lake Tahoe.

McMahon's introduction to Manziel came two years ago, when Manziel won the Davey O'Brien Award while a redshirt freshman at Texas A&M. And though McMahon rarely watches the NFL and "couldn't care less" about the current crop of quarterbacks, he has kept tabs on Manziel, who has evoked some comparisons to McMahon for his hard-partying ways off the field.

"I read something a couple weeks ago where he said I'm not worried about what people say. And that's good for him. You can't worry about what everybody is going to think of you," McMahon told USA TODAY Sports. "As long as you're doing your job, it doesn't matter what you do off the field."

McMahon's opinion on Manziel seems to be a rare one, as former players, from Emmitt Smith to Brady Quinn, have openly criticized Manziel's wild ways during his first NFL offseason, a spring and summer spent partying in Las Vegas and Austin, with bikini-clad women and on an inflatable swan.

None of it will matter, McMahon said, if Manziel plays well once he reports to training camp later this month.

"Nothing wrong with that. As long you're playing between the lines, I don't care what you do," McMahon said.

McMahon, of course, had quite the reputation for partying during his 15-year NFL career. He shocked Bears officials when he held a beer during one of his introductory events after the team drafted him out of Brigham Young in 1982, and famously mooned a television camera during a Super Bowl event.

He has been diagnosed with early stages of dementia, and was among the early players to sue the NFL for the league's treatment of head injuries. He recently became a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against the league, claiming it gave players illegal narcotics and painkillers.

McMahon declined to talk about the lawsuits or his health issues on Tuesday.

"I've been told to keep my mouth shut," McMahon said.

Here at the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course, McMahon is akin to the mayor of the American Century Championship as one of just four men who have played in the tournament every year since its inception 25 years ago. (The others are John Elway, Mike Eruzione and actor Jack Wagner.) He was among the first players to arrive (he parked his RV near the course on Saturday). He'll golf in the morning, then hop in a speed boat for a spin around the lake in the afternoon â?? a free ride courtesy of any of the locals he's befriended over the past 25 years.

On the course, McMahon is easy to spot. He's the one in the signature mirrored shades â?? and the only player in bare feet.

"There are only a few courses around the country that are stuffy and make you wear shoes," McMahon said. "They [complained] at me for years here. I said show me in the rule book where it says you have to wear them. I'm a stickler for the rules, you've got to know them to get around them."